Heartlanders and “rejecting the teachings of the prophets”
Heartlanders continually and emphatically assert that people who don’t believe the hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon is in New York are “rejecting the teachings of the prophets.” (Jonathan Neville has made that very claim hundreds of times.)
And yet it is becoming abundantly clear that it is Heartlanders who are rejecting the teachings of living prophets. For example, they insist upon claiming that their geographical theories have prophetic support (contrary to the explicit counsel of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve), and they reject the teachings of apostles in General Conference about the identification of modern descendants of Lehi.
In just the latest example of Heartlanders rejecting the counsel of Church leaders, Rod Meldrum’s September 2021 FIRM Foundation EXPO has at least one speaker on the schedule who practices and advocates for “energy healing”:
The program also features Angie Christensen, who the FIRM Foundation once described as a “certified neurofeedback and energy healer,” but for this conference has been demoted, I suppose, to someone who has simply “been trained in” neurofeedback and energy therapy.
Apparently, Meldrum hasn’t gotten the memo from Church leaders:
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Meldrum doesn’t want to distance himself and his organization from those people, because there is money to be made.
—Peter Pan
And yet it is becoming abundantly clear that it is Heartlanders who are rejecting the teachings of living prophets. For example, they insist upon claiming that their geographical theories have prophetic support (contrary to the explicit counsel of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve), and they reject the teachings of apostles in General Conference about the identification of modern descendants of Lehi.
In just the latest example of Heartlanders rejecting the counsel of Church leaders, Rod Meldrum’s September 2021 FIRM Foundation EXPO has at least one speaker on the schedule who practices and advocates for “energy healing”:
Apparently, Meldrum hasn’t gotten the memo from Church leaders:
Church members are discouraged from seeking miraculous or supernatural healing from an individual or group that claims to have special methods for accessing healing power outside of prayer and properly performed priesthood blessings. These practices are often referred to as “energy healing.” Other names are also used. Such promises for healing are often given in exchange for money.This counsel was issued seven months ago, so there’s been plenty of time for Meldrum and the FIRM Foundation to distance themselves from the “energy healing” grifters who are so closely tied to the Heartland movement.
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Meldrum doesn’t want to distance himself and his organization from those people, because there is money to be made.
—Peter Pan
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I try to give Heartlanders the benefit of the doubt, but when I see things like this, it is very hard to. They are either aware of the current teachings of the Church, and are intentionally choosing not to follow them, or they are not aware of the current teachings of the Church, because they are intentionally choosing not to "stay in the loop" on current teachings.
ReplyDeleteEither way, intentional disobedience or willful ignorance can only lead to apostasy. And the love of money doesn't help, either.